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Astarte
Astarte is a female Egyptian Pharaoh and boss that made her first appearance in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. She has the ability to charm male characters to fight on her side. Origins Astarte is the Greek name of the Mesopotamian Semitic goddess, Ishtar. She was associated with fertility, sexuality and war. Her symbols were the lion, the horse, the sphinx, the dove, and a star within a circle indicating the planet Venus. Pictorial representations often show her naked. She has been known as the deified evening star. She was worshiped in Syria and Canaan beginning in the first millennium BC and was first mentioned in texts from Ugarit. She came from the same Semitic origins as the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar, and an Ugaritic text specifically equates Astarte with her. Astarte arrived in Ancient Egypt during the 18th dynasty along with other deities who were worshiped by northwest Semitic people. She was especially worshiped in her aspect as a warrior goddess, often paired with the goddess Anat. Appearances ''Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Astarte appears in the Sandy Grave as the game's fourth boss. Her attacks are the following: *'Temptation': She will shoot heart arrows at the general direction of the hero. If Jonathan/Richter is hit by this attack, it will take control of him, forcing the player to switch to Charlotte/Maria and fight both Astarte and Jonathan/Richter for the rest of the battle. Unless the player is skilled enough to handle the situation, the fight will more than likely end in Astarte's favor. Although the player can switch to Charlotte/Maria from the beginning and avoid the move altogether (since she is immune), it would prolong the fight since Astarte is resistant to almost all of her spells. A viable solution would be attacking as Jonathan and when she yells the attack, switch to Charlotte/Maria in order to nullify it. Even if Jonathan/Richter is affected, though, he is not entirely unstoppable. Once Charlotte/Maria has dealt enough damage to him, he will simply crouch downwards and remain that way until the battle is over. *'Scarf Blade': She will lunge at the hero and use her scarf to stab them. This can be easily dodged by moving away or jumping behind her. *'Tornado Rod': She will use her rod to spawn a tornado. The player can either double-jump it or double-jump and try to get behind her. Ducking under her rod's tip, while a little risky, does allow more opportunities for the player to deal damage to Astarte, no matter their choice of weaponry. *'Delta Spark: She will retreat and jump backwards, then shoot electric triangles at the trail spots where she jumped on. Do not approach her at this point until the road is clear; she may walk forward so the player doesn't have to. Astarte does not take actions so quickly after every move (she often walks around taunting), so take advantage of her slower speed. Attacking from mid-close distance is ideal for the fight. A cheap way to beat her is spamming 1,000 Blades. During the fight just use Charlotte alone and cast it twice, another after the first one ends. The fight will end very quickly. ''Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Astarte is the boss of Chapter 7, the DLC stage ''Beauty, Desire, Situation Dire, in Harmony of Despair. Astarte fights almost the exact way as she did in Portrait of Ruin, except she inflicts a lot more damage (some moves are near-instant death) and has a lot more HP than her counterpart. Her "Temptation" move affects all male characters for a short duration and can only be dodged by a timed double jump above her head, or sliding under them from behind her once she launches them. In addition, Soma can use the Medusa Head soul to hover directly above her to dodge them. The attack may also be avoided by ducking in the corners of the room, but not always. Unlike in Portrait of Ruin, Temptation will physically damage female characters if it connects, although they will not become enslaved like the males. Item Data Gallery PoR Illustrated Egyptian Queen.JPG|'Astartes illustration from ''Portrait of Ruin Trivia *Astarte might have been inspired in part by real life last Egyptian Pharaoh, Cleopatra (69 BC-30 BC), who was known throughout history for her notorious beauty, which allowed her to seduce Roman emperor, Julius Caesar, and later Roman general, Mark Anthony, primarily with the intention of sparing Egypt from a full invasion by the Roman Empire. *Astarte’s design and attacks may also be an obscure reference to So Dakki, the villainess in Ryu Fujisaki’s manga “Houshin Engi” (known overseas as “Soul Hunter”). This is evident in both characters having a seductive personality while donning a similar headdress, a veil that doubles as a weapon, and the power of Temptation, which they use to control men. Easter Eggs If the player pauses the game at different moments during the battle and uses the "Talk" option, they will get extra dialogue between Charlotte and Jonathan. *As soon the player enters the boss room: **Jonathan: "... So beautiful..." **Charlotte: "Jonathan! What are you looking at? Don't lose your head!" *When Jonathan is affected by Temptation: **Jonathan: "Yes... My Master..." **Charlotte: "Snap out of it, Jonathan! Don't you recognize me?!" *After the battle is over (requires that Jonathan was seduced): **Jonathan: "Sorry about that." **Charlotte: "Would you get a grip? You've got a gorgeous girl right here next to you!" *When Astarte is first defeated: (voice clip from Portrait of Ruin) **Charlotte: (to Jonathan) "You're asking for it!" **Jonathan: Sorry.. Category:Egyptian Monsters Category:Female Monsters Category:Humans Category:Mesopotamian Monsters Category:Harmony of Despair Bosses Category:Portrait of Ruin Bosses Category:Thunder Bosses